Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Cardinal Action

I walked through this alley earlier this evening, and heard the short, high-pitched chirp that I recognize as Cardinalis cardinalis. I got the pics of mom on the way out, and the pic of dad plus the movie on the way back. These birds are very shy. It turns out there were some fledglings about, which is why I was able to get these pictures.

We have a mated pair that hang out in our yard year after year. They love the bush right outside the window by my computer so I get to see them up close and personal when they don't know any better. :)

In the UK, if a "grey squirrel" (eastern gray squirrel) is trapped, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is illegal to release it or to allow it to escape into the wild; instead they should be humanely destroyed.~

I don't think these little black squirrels are much in the way of predators - Oh, it would not surprise me if they picked off the occasional insect or egg or even baby bird - but they are very much lower on the food chain than, say, the Ocelot...